Connie Scheochert - Tissue Recipient

To Connie Schoechert, the orange dot on her driver’s license symbolized her pledge to donate organs. But years later, she learned first-hand that donation isn’t limited to the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and pancreas.

Special gifts she received after two workplace accidents changed her life. They also helped increase her awareness of how the donation of tissue – bone, skin, valves, veins and tendons – can improve strength, mobility and independence for patients in need.

In 1994 while working at a paper mill, Connie slipped on some steps and fell, injuring her right leg. The company nurse said the impact separated the muscle from her femur and would take some time to heal. But healing didn’t come.

Over the next two years, she experienced pain and difficulty walking, despite regular rounds of ultrasounds, physical therapy and home exercises.

Finally, Connie was diagnosed with chondroblastoma, a rare benign bone tumor that required surgery to remove. She was surprised to find out that small bone fragments were used to replace her damaged tissue, thanks to the generosity of a deceased donor.

“That really changed my idea of a donor,” Connie says. “It’s amazing that so many things can be used to make someone’s life better.”

Her experience with tissue donation didn’t end there. In 1999, Connie, now working at a dry cleaner, fell victim to another accident. A press malfunctioned and pinned her left arm, badly burning her skin from the back of her hand to her elbow.

Connie once again found out about the healing power of tissue donation. Over the next year, she received two grafts to repair and restore the scars on her arm – one from her own skin and the other from donor skin.

Today, Connie lives a healthy lifestyle in Nekoosa, Wis., and enjoys hunting, fishing, snowshoeing and biking. She also is serious about fitness and adheres to a low-carbohydrate diet.

She says the journey was challenging and a lot of hard work. And she is grateful to those whose gifts helped her get her life back. “I haven’t received a lung. I haven’t received a heart” she says. “But the little stuff really makes a difference. The quality of life is still there.”

What would she say to her donors? “A million times, thank you,” she says. “Thank you for the selfless act, for the little miracles that happen every single day.”

According to the Donate Life organization, each year there are approximately 30,000 tissue donors and more than a million tissue transplants. The need for donated tissue is steadily rising. While one organ donor can save as many as eight lives, one tissue donor can enhance and heal the lives of more than 75 people.